Thursday, October 18, 2012

I have been struggling to teach our daughter about prayer. She is only three and a half, so I certainly don't expect her to truly understand the concept or power of prayer, but I really want her to have some understanding of why I pray with her. I started explaining to her that prayer is like water and sun for people! She knows that we water our flowers and plants and knows that it helps them to grow. I told her that when we pray it is like we are watering the people we love so they will grow too! Of course, she thought they would get bigger, but I explained to her that they are growing more in love with Jesus and becoming better on the inside.

I wanted to make our prayers for others fit this picture, so I created a Pot of Prayers. I used pictures of the people we pray for to create a flower-looking design that I put on candy pop sticks. I put corn in a pot and some ribbon and now we have a Pot of Prayers!

So, who do we pray for? So many people: family, friends, classmates, and our Pastor. How about you? How do you pray with your Preschooler?

Monday, October 8, 2012

Needless to say, I am all about traditions! This year for Thanksgiving, I wanted to focus on GIVING THANKS to those people who touch our lives each day. So many people, myself included, go about their day often wondering "Am I making a difference?" I say YES! Too often those who make a difference in our lives in small or big ways, go unnoticed. For example, there is a woman who frequently serves us at Dunkin' Donuts who is always so kind and courteous and has a smile and a kind word for me and our daughter. I always roll the backseat window down, so Isabella can say hello to "Miss Linda". That woman probably feels that she is just a service worker at a coffee shop, but for us, she is a warm and friendly part of our day! She is, unbeknownst to her, shining her light before others as God calls us to do in Matthew 5:16.I have so many other people in our life who offer a friendly smile and a wave when they could just go about their day without such a simple, but powerful offer. Our mailman and the clerks at the post office, so many of the teachers and paraprofessionals at our daughters school, and the school crossing guard. I still remember a man in our old neighborhood who was a crossing guard: he was so lively and friendly and waved each and every morning to the people passing down the road. On my way to work in the mornings, I passed another crossing guard at a middle school not far from the school I taught at. I noticed, for over eight years how kind this woman was and the respect and care that was evident on the children's faces as they crossed the street, chatting and laughing with her. This woman must have been in her 70s. She could have been cross and unkind. She could have been bitter when the weather was cold and rainy, but instead, she was always smiling, courteous and diligent at her work. This year we are starting a new tradition called the Gratitude Gourd for the month of November leading up to Thanksgiving. Each day we will give a pumpkin gift to someone whose light shines before us, as our way of saying THANKS and a way to give back for the kindness they have offered us daily. I made up a poem that we will attach to each gourd.

I will upload a few sizes for you all to use as you wish. Please not that the font is DJ Harvest from djinkers.com as well as the cute pumpkin and mouse clip art. The poem is written by me and is protected by copyright. All rights are reserved. You may use it for PERSONAL USE ONLY. So, you may be wondering what kind of gourd you need to use. Well, anything goes! Here is one of mine:

This one is a glass pumpkin jar from Target that cost $5.99. If you are doing one each day leading up to Thanksgiving, you may want to find a less expensive alternative...or only do a few glass ones. It is up to you! You could do real pumpkins and just attach the poem! You can do pumpkin bags, small plastic pumpkin containers, DIY paper pumpkin treat boxes...the possibilities are endless ~ especially if you check out Pinterest ;)I would LOVE to see what you end up doing for your Gratitude Pumpkins so be sure to stop by and share on our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/TheGratitudeGourdAre you READY!?! Download your own Gratitude Gourd poems HERE :)